Kidco Go Pod: Great Activity Seat for On the Go

from Rated By Mom



We saw a great baby product that is fabulous for camping, sporting events, trips to the park, grandma’s house or even your own backyard.  The Kidco Go Pod is a compact, lightweight activity seat that is super portable and a great alternative to those bulky, non-traveling activity centers.

At first glance, it looks like a camping chair all folded up in its bag.  But unfold it (in like 5 seconds flat!) and you have yourself an activity seat for your baby that resembles a camping chair.  Same fabric.  Same fold.  Same frame.  But this seat is for your baby!

The Go Pod is great for indoor or outdoor use.  Plus, simply fold and store when not in use.  Great for small spaces!




Features of the Kidco Go Pod:

• Locking Button – Ensures Go·Pod is locked in place; safe for baby

• Floor Pad – Keeps baby’s feet from touching undesirable surfaces
• Four Seat Height Positions – Grows with baby for appropriate leg/feet positioning
• Drink and Snack Holders
• Five Nylon Toy Loops – Holds baby’s favorite toy
• Storage Bag – Includes pocket for wallet, keys, ipod, etc.Age range: approximately 4 months (or when your baby can hold it’s head up unassisted) to walking
• Product Weight:  an amazing 7 lbs!!!Folded Dimensions: 6.5”W x 6.5”L x 29.5”H
• Open Dimensions: 24”W x 24”L x 19.5”H (at its lowest seat level)Three models available:  P7000-QuickSilver, P7001-Sorbet, P7002-Pistachio
• Retail approximately $49.99 at Buy Buy Baby and other retailers

The Benefits of a Babymoon

from Nature Moms



You will have heard of a honeymoon, but what about a babymoon? A honeymoon is understood to be a time of intimacy and closeness between a bride and groom, and a babymoon is also a time of intimacy and closeness. It’s a time for a mother and baby to get to know each other. Breastfeeding, attachment, and many necessary things occur when a mother takes time out for a babymoon.

The concept of a babymoon is not new, even if the term is. The term “babymoon” has been used to refer to close time between couples before the birth of their child, but generally speaking the term is reserved for those few weeks after birth.

All over the world, various cultures recognize the weeks immediately following birth to be an almost sacred time of rest and solitude for mother and baby. In some parts of the world, new mothers are pampered – fed special foods, given massages, and otherwise treated with care during the postpartum period. There is a reason why this global tradition is being upheld – there are many benefits. Here are some.

Healing
Your body has undergone a tremendous series of events. Pregnancy and childbirth, depending on the circumstances and health of the mother, can be draining at best and traumatic at worst. Your body needs time to heal physically, especially in the case of perineal tearing or a C-section. It also needs time to heal emotionally, as your body undergoes enormous hormonal shifts after birth and you adjust to the new routine of baby care.

Bonding
Western cultures tend to discourage mother-infant bonding. Mothers talk about how little their child needs them and how well he or she goes with a caregiver. But the importance of close bonding should not be diminished. During the babymoon, mother and baby should have lots of skin-to-skin contact and interaction. The close bond that is formed will build a foundation of security that will last for the rest of the baby’s life.

Health
An old midwife recommendation was for a new mother not to leave the house for six weeks. More and more we are discovering the wisdom of that caution. During the first six weeks of life, a baby’s immune system is still developing. It’s a germy world out there, and while exposure does help build immunity, the immune system must be ready before exposure can have any beneficial effect.

Breastfeeding
The health benefits of breastfeeding are too numerous to list here, but suffice to say that a babymoon encourages the breastfeeding relationship. Mother and baby have time to bond and learn the sometimes challenging art of breastfeeding without the rush of trying to get back to the old routine right away.

BABY WEARING IS MORE THAN BABY CARRYING

From A Milky Way



When we had Zeke more than eight years ago, I looked at that Baby Bjorn as a means of transportation. Lighter than a car seat. Hands-free. Get from Point A to Point B. It was all about me. But boy was that thing uncomfortable.

But thanks to Wooten and 7+ year experience owning and operating The Milky Way, I learned that a carrier is a lot more than a side car to my speedster. It's as much, if not more, about your baby and his/her well-being. Babies are literally a part of the mother inside the womb. They are being held and carried inside their mother's body. When mommy moves, or walks or runs, baby lightly bounces along, perfectly positioned and perfectly comfortable.

So when they come out of the womb they want you to help them transition from perfect attachment to complete independence...one baby step at a time. They want to be held. You want to boogie. The best way to do accomplish both is to carry your baby close to you. And to let them jiggle and bounce lightly along as you go. It's an ideal way to put them as close to being back in the womb as you can get. Babies thrive through touch.

According Babywearing International, a non-profit organization than promotes and instructs on babywearing, these are the advantages of attachment parenting:

• Happy Babies. It’s true … carried babies cry less! In a study published in the journal Pediatrics, researchers found that baby wearing for three hours a day reduced infant crying by 43 percent overall and 54 percent during evening hours.

• Healthy Babies. Premature babies and babies with special needs often enter the world with fragile nervous systems. When a baby rides in a sling attached to his mother, he is in tune with the rhythm of her breathing, the sound of her heartbeat, and the movements his mother makes—walking, bending, and reaching. This stimulation helps him to regulate his own physical responses. Research has even shown that premature babies who are touched and held gain weight faster and are healthier than babies who are not.

• Confident Parents. A large part of feeling confident as a parent is the ability to read our babies’ cues successfully. Holding our babies close in a sling allows us to become finely attuned to their movements, gestures, and facial expressions. Every time a baby is able to let us know that she is hungry, bored, or wet without having to cry, her trust in us is increased, her learning is enhanced, and our own confidence is reinforced. This cycle of positive interaction deepens the mutual attachment between parent and child, and is especially beneficial for mothers who are at risk for or suffering from postpartum depression.

• Loving Caregivers. Baby carriers are a great bonding tool for fathers, grandparents, adoptive parents, babysitters, and other caregivers. Imagine a new father going for a walk with his baby in a sling. The baby is becoming used to his voice, heartbeat, movements, and facial expressions, and the two are forging a strong attachment of their own. Baby carriers are beneficial for every adult in a baby’s life. Cuddling up close in the sling is a wonderful way to get to know the baby in your life, and for the baby to get to know you!

•Comfort and Convenience. With the help of a good carrier, you can take care of older children or do chores without frequent interruptions from an anxious or distressed infant—which helps to reduce sibling rivalry. Baby carriers are also wonderful to use with older babies and toddlers; you can save those arms and go where strollers can’t. Climbing stairs, hiking, and navigating crowded airports all can be done with ease when you use a well-designed baby carrier!

We have a carefully selected and comprehensive lineup of carriers, slings and wraps at The Milky Way to fit each parent's needs preference. Those include:

1. MOBY WRAP - A single piece of fabric that you wrap around your upper body with baby pressed snuggly-buggly against your chest, side or back. Offers many different holds and is very comfortable for parents as the wrap absorbs the baby's weight and distributes it throughout the upper body and not just at the shoulders. Very comforting to baby. Takes a little trial and error but we are happy to help you with that and once you get it it's a snap.
2. ERGO BABY CARRIER - A Baby-Bjorn-like carrier that is much more comfortable for baby and parent. Baby sits rather than dangles which makes it more comfortable and is better for the baby's spinal growth. A favorite of hikers so that should give you some indication of its long-ride comfort quotient. Two knocks on the Ergo is that, although you get front, side and back positions, baby always has to face you and you need an infant insert before your baby reaches a few months old. Scores high marks with dads.
3. FREEHAND CARRIER by TogetherBe - A Baby Bjorn-like carrier that is much more comfortable for baby and parent. Has every advantage of the Ergo but without the two knocks. Baby can face in or out and, having more adjustability, there is no need for an infant insert. A big advantage is that it goes from newborn to large toddler (up to 40 lbs.!). A good choice when you want dad to get into the game as well.
4. RING SLING - Like the traditional slings that have been around since the dawn of time but with a ring for easy adjusting. High snuggle quotient. Offers the most hold positions. It's limitation is that since it wraps around one shoulder, it is not as comfortable as the others. That said, it is ideal for small infants and for those who want a carrier that is a bit more user-friendly than the Moby Wrap.
5. MEI TAI CARRIER - Combo wrap and carrier. It's like a Moby Wrap but without all the wrapping so it's more user-friendly. Designed like a traditional carrier such as the Ergo or Freehand but with softer, prettier fabric. Not quite as comfortable for older children but an easy and cute way to roll for infants under a year. The most stylish way to go while combining the best of all of the carrier options above...except the amazing comfort factor you'll get from the more practical-looking Ergo and Freehand. And most dads could pass on the cute embroidery.

Eye-Opening Books on Motherhood

From The Stir

Now that you've read all the pregnancy, baby care, and breastfeeding books out there, your thoughts might just be turning to what exactly is going to happen to you once your baby is here. How exactly is this going to change your life? How will your emotional makeup be different once you have this little person around?

The fact is, you can't know until your baby gets here ... your transformation into a mama will be unique to you and your baby. But luckily, there are a lot of fabulous women writers who have left a trail of breadcrumbs to follow as you find your own path. And there are some books really worth reading. Stock up on these books for some cozy, and illuminating, winter reading for the mom-to-be.





For just about any mom-to-be: Operating Instructions, Anne Lamott. It's a classic for a reason. Lamott retells the story of her first year of raising her son Sam in funny, sad, heartbreaking, and hopeful detail.





For the political mom-to be: The Mommy Myth: The Idealization of Motherhood and How It Has Undermined All Women, Susan Douglas and Meredith Michaels. This book outlines how we're all being sold a bill of goods by the media in terms of what mothers are supposed to be and do. The only drawback: The writers frequently come across as if they don't like children or motherhood at all, but that doesn't dull the importance of their message.





For the mom who loved Food, Inc.: The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver. Kingsolver became beloved by sustainable food advocates when she wrote Animal, Vegetable Miracle with her family in 2007. It chronicles their adventures feeding themselves from their farm and neighboring ones; this, though, is her first novel and and her lovely, lyrical writing shines through as it has in every one since. Heroine Taylor Greer finds herself unexpectedly becoming a mother when a total stranger places a baby in her car and pleads with her to take the little girl. She does, and opens herself up in the process.





For the mom-to-be who bonds with her yoga class: Little Earthquakes, Jennifer Weiner. Three moms meet in a prenatal yoga class and become fast, if unlikely, friends when one of them goes into labor when her NBA-star husband is out of town. The story follows them through their first year of motherhood, along with all the relationship upheaval and life adjustment that goes with it.





For the mom who marches to her own drummer: A Big Storm Knocked It Over, Laurie Colwin. Colwin writes with amazing clarity and a gentle humor ... you'll feel like her characters are right in the room with you, and you'll find yourself liking even the ones who drive you nuts. Like many of Colwin's books, there's not a lot of plot; it follows Jane Louise Parker through early marriage and motherhood and the family they construct from friends.

What's your favorite book about motherhood?

New Report Surfaces: BPA on Money

from Safe mama



A while back we all found out just how much BPA is present in a simple store receipt and several people blogged about it, bringing it to the forefront. It’s become more apparent that BPA lurks in places we don’t realize.  So is the case with paper money too.  My friends at SaferChemicals.org published an article today about a new report that illustrates how much BPA is in paper money.

The Washington Toxics Coalition along with Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, who authored the report, said that 95% of bills tested came up positive for amounts of BPA.  It’s more disheartening evidence that avoiding BPA is virtually impossible… no matter how hard we try.

Researchers found that half of the thermal paper receipts tested had large quantities of unbound BPA; 95% of the dollar bills tested positive for lower amounts.  Unlike BPA in baby bottles and other products, BPA on thermal paper isn’t chemically bound in any way: it’s a powdery film on the surface of receipts.  Data from this report indicate that this highly toxic chemical does rather easily transfer to our skin and likely to other items that it rubs against.  In tests mimicking typical handling of receipts, BPA transferred from receipts to fingers.  Just ten seconds of holding a receipt transferred up to 2.5 micrograms. Researchers transferred much higher amounts, about 15 times as much, by rubbing receipts.

You can read/download the full report on the Washington Toxics Coalitions website. (PDF)
WA Toxics has great tips for avoiding BPA but in a nutshell regarding paper money and recipts:

• Keep receipts/bills seperate in your purse or wallet.  Its been shown that the BPA on receipts is not embedded into the materials like in plastic so, it’s in a powdery film form that can get onto hands and into mouths easier.
• WASH YOUR HANDS after handling money or receipts.
• Don’t allow children to handle money or hold receipts, or at the very least wash their hands afterwards.
• WA Toxics suggests refusing a receipt when you can.  BPA Free receipts are starting to pop up but it’s not all that common yet.

Now my question is, what about paper checks? Mail? Magazines? Where else can it be lurking?

Moms, Don't Forget Tummy Time

from Fit Pregnancy

12.07.10 Experts say extended periods on their stomachs in infancy linked to babies' long-term health, development.

The success of the 1992 Back to Sleep campaign from the American Academy of Pediatrics has had unexpected consequences on infants, Slate online magazine reports.


While it's helped curb sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) cases, the sleep-on-their-backs emphasis has scared parents away from tummy time at all, which is essential for infants to develop neck and back muscle strength, among other benefits.


According to the Slate article, "the less time infants spend on their stomachs, the slower they generally are to acquire motor skills during their first year, which means the potential delay of simple feats like lifting their heads as well as more complicated movements like rolling over, crawling and pulling to stand."


However, when a baby reaches these motor-skills milestones before he or she walks is proving crucial and can factor into long-term health and cognitive ability (delayed motor skills, lower IQs, even school-related problems), according to a growing number of studies cited by Slate.


The Slate writer goes on to note that doctors are not sounding any alarms on this trend because "children usually walk shortly after their first birthday regardless of how much tummy time they've had."


Not only is tummy time helpful in muscle development, it helps prevent flat head in babies. Babies usually begin to lift their heads when they're on their bellies at about 2 to 3 months old, making their way up to "baby push-ups" at about 4 to 6 months old. To help your baby get to these milestones, give him or her plenty of stretches of tummy time.

And remember, every baby reaches milestones at his or her own rate—there's no one-size-fits-all "normal" milestone chart.

Maria Vega is Fit Pregnancy magazine's copy editor.

Get the white out of baby's first foods, pediatrician says

from By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY



Almost every child care book offers the same advice about a baby's first meal.

When infants are ready for solid food, experts say, start them first on rice cereal, available in a box, mixed with breast milk or formula. Babies have launched their eating careers this way for 60 years, says Alan Greene, a pediatrician at Stanford University's Lucile Packard Children Hospital.

In the 1950s, Greene says, baby food companies trumpeted the benefits of white rice cereal, telling mothers that it was easier for babies to digest than anything they could make at home. "The ads said, 'You can't feed children as well as we can,' " says Greene, author of Feeding Baby Green.


But David Ludwig, director of the Optimal Weight for Life program at Children's Hospital Boston, says "there's no scientific basis for this recommendation. That's a myth."

Concerned about increasing childhood obesity and growing rates of diabetes, some pediatricians want to change how babies eat.

Greene is encouraging parents to abandon white rice cereal in favor of more nutritious brown rice cereals or even a homemade brown rice mash or vegetable purée. "They won't mind," says Greene, who launched a "WhiteOut" campaign last week. "They'll thank you for it."

He is concerned that babies are getting hooked on the taste of highly processed white rice and flour, which could set them up for a lifetime of bad habits, such as a weakness for cakes and cookies.

White rice — after processing strips away fiber, vitamins and other nutrients — is a "nutritional disaster," Ludwig says. It's "as processed as anything in the food supply" and "the nutritional equivalent of table sugar."
White rice and flour turn to sugar in the body "almost instantly," Ludwig says, raising blood sugar and insulin levels "while providing virtually no other nutrients."

The USA Rice Federation, which represents the rice industry, counters that white rice has no fat, cholesterol, sodium or gluten, a protein in wheat to which some people are allergic, says spokeswoman Stacy Fitzgerald-Redd. Even fussy babies can tolerate white rice without an upset stomach.

It's "as nutritionally sound as any other carbohydrate," she says.

Babies certainly eat a lot of it.

It's "the No. 1 source of calories for kids in the first year of life, other than breast milk or formula," says Greene, noting that, "by 18 months, most children get no whole grains each day."

Greene says parents don't have to abandon instant rice cereal, which offers the advantage of added iron, an important nutrient for babies, especially those who are breast-fed. Most cereal manufacturers already offer a brown rice alternative.

Though offering whole grains seems like a smart idea, nutrition expert Walter Willett says white rice is far from the only culprit in childhood obesity. Most kids also drink too many sugary beverages, such as fruit juice, punch and soda, says Willett, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health and co-author of the June diabetes study.

"I don't want people to feel guilty," Greene says. "I have four kids and I figured this out just recently. But it's time to change."